


The Ghost Of Bones

by Hyrulehearts1123, sageclover61



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Animal Abuse, Animal Death, Animal narrator, Character Turned Into a Ghost, Comfort, Don't copy to another site, Gen, Ghost Dog, Healing, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Animal Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, John Winchester deserves to rot in the deepest darkest pit of hell, Unreliable Narrator, narrator is a ghost
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2019-09-24 12:11:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17100362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hyrulehearts1123/pseuds/Hyrulehearts1123, https://archiveofourown.org/users/sageclover61/pseuds/sageclover61
Summary: If there was anyone who needed a guardian angel, it would have been Sam Winchester. He would have denied it with his dying breath, but that didn't make this any less true. And just this once, Sam got both his greatest desire and the thing he needed the most.Once upon a time, there was a boy who ran away from home. It was a carefree two weeks, just a boy and his dog. It was the happiest time of his life, living on pizza and being away from the people who hurt him the most.This is the story of the dog named Bones, who loved her master so much that it transcended into death. Who loved her master so much, that her ghost latched onto his soul, would not be separated from him.This is my story, and unlike most stories, this one begins with my death.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was a project that I started instead of working on Nano stuff and with the completion of Sam and Sleepy Nook, Hyrule has joined along for the ride.
> 
> Enjoy!

 

 

 

My return to consciousness was far from instantaneous. I was aware that time was passing, but not what was happening. One moment I was defending _my boy_ , and then for some length of time, I was nowhere.

 

The first thing I noticed when I came to was that we were moving, and I could hear the distinct rumbling of what Sam had continuously called a ‘Car’. We must have been inside the beast, because even though the sound didn't stop, we were still moving.

 

I was lying down, so I looked around, but before I could figure out where I was, someone was petting me. “ _My boy!_ ”

 

I looked up a second after I barked, but he'd paled. He'd been happy, for a moment, but now he was looking ahead, terrified. I looked where he looking, and finally determined we weren't alone. There were two other people in the front seat, one of them being the _man_ who had tried to hurt _my boy._ I growled.

 

If anything, Sam blanched even more, and he shifted down in his seat. “Shh, girl,” he whispered. “Please.”

 

His terror hadn’t abated, so I rested my had on his leg and licked at his arm. I couldn’t really taste anything besides the fear, but he scratched behind my ears before he resumed his soft gentle strokes. I would have barked more, but I understood that my boy needed me to lie there quietly more than the enjoyment I would have gotten from terrorizing the human, even if the human couldn’t hear me. Besides, my boy knew exactly which spot was always itchy. _I licked his arm some more. He was a good boy._

 

After a very long time, after the sun had disappeared so there was no light inside the Car and sporadic lights outside, we finally came to a stop.

 

“Okay, boys,” the man snarled, turning to look at the boy in the front seat and Sam. “We are going to spend the night here and leave first thing in the morning, and you two are going to behave. I will be right back, and you two aren't to move.”

 

The man opened the exit to the beast and walked away, leaving both of the human pups in the car. The one in the front turned around to face Sam.

 

“You okay, Sammy?” he asked. He smelled of worry, and pain, and pleasant feelings for my boy. His voice hitched as he spoke, and I could tell it had hurt him. Did my boy know?

 

“Yeah, Dean,” my boy mumbled.

 

Dean must have been the name of the other boy. Sam had spoken of Dean before, the only light in his life before he'd run away and found me. Sam cared a lot about Dean, I'd have to make sure he was okay for Sam's sake.

 

The man came back, then. “March,” he said, waving his hands towards the outside. Dean got out first and then Sam, and my boy held the exit open an extra second so I could also hop out. And then we made our way to where we would be staying.

 

The pups were told to go to bed, which they would be sharing because there were two beds, so they did. And I jumped onto the bed and licked Sam's toes. He was trying to make the happy sounds, but he was also trying to hide them, and I could smell the fear scent mixed with the happy scent.

 

As my boy slipped into a restless slumber, I fervently wished that I could do something more for my boy so he would never have to feel so much terror, and that he wouldn't have to hide his simple joy for fear of repercussions.

* * *

 

Dean lay in bed, trying his hardest to stay quiet, though his every breath was agony.

 

Sam had fallen asleep nearly two hours ago, and so had their dad, but the unending agony in his ribs made it difficult to breathe, which made it even harder to sleep. It was likely that his ribs were bruised at best, if not cracked, and the swelling from the bruises made things even worse. He was honestly terrified to fall asleep, terrified that he could stop breathing in the night, leaving Sam alone to face their father’s wrath by himself.

 

And so he lay there, watching Sam’s every breath, tears falling silently as he prayed for each breath to not be his last.

 

No matter what position he tried to lay in, there was no relief from the pain. It was overwhelming, and was arguably one of the worst things that had ever happened to him, but he knew the truth. It had been worse two weeks ago, when it had first happened.

 

He was almost happy that they were going to Bobby’s. Not because they would be getting a break from hunting, or because they would have a solid, stable environment for at least a few weeks, but because it would give them a chance to get away from their father.

 

But he wasn’t able to think about those things for long, as an unintentionally deep breath had him gasping, fighting against the pain, and the urge to scream. If he wasn’t certain that something was wrong before, he would be now.

 

In the middle of his suffering, something changed. A flicker of light appeared next to Sam, before its form solidified into that of a dog. It looked like a mutt, a little dirty, and in need of a good meal, but otherwise friendly looking, and docile.

 

Sam had mentioned a dog, but had shut up about it pretty quickly. Not one to question how Sam had managed to sneak it past their dad without even Dean noticing, he carefully reached a hand towards the dog.

 

“Hey there, Mutt. How’d you get in here?” he whispered, voice shaking from the pain.

 

But the dog did not reply, instead climbing over Sam to lie between the two. It moved it’s head to rest on Dean’s shoulder, careful to not touch his ribs in any way. Smiling weakly, Dean began to pet the dog’s neck, taking slow, shuddering breaths to try and calm himself, and stay sane through the pain.

 

The dog shifted, reaching to lick gently at Dean’s face and neck. Fighting against the pain and fear had taken its toll on him, and before long, the soft, repetitive licking, along with the dog’s quiet breathing, had Dean falling into a deep sleep.

* * *

 

The overworked author sighed. He was sitting in the middle of many piles of books, none of their titles visible, and he was frowning. “None of these outcomes are acceptable,” he said, but it was unclear who he was addressing, as he was alone. “Not one.” His frown deepened.

 

With a wave of the author’s hand, all the books vanished. “Clearly inactivity has been the wrong approach. It’s time to try something new.”

 

Clearly, it was time for a change. But what was there to change? So much had gone wrong over time, there was little that could be done to fix anything with any manner of speed. And with the supposed End coming ever closer with every passing year, it seemed nearly hopeless, even for him.

 

Ten years. That was all the time that was left before the final march towards the end would begin. It was nowhere near enough time to set things in motion to change his family.

 

But perhaps, it would be enough to start changing things upon the earth, to prepare them all for what would come.

 

Opening a new notebook, he put pen to paper, and began writing once more. The ghost that had attached itself to Sam Winchester’s soul would prove to be useful, seeing as there had never been a guardian angel assigned to either of the children, despite their importance to the fate of the world. And if things were to change, then perhaps the strange situation that had led to the first ghost to attach to a soul would be the most important piece of the puzzle.

* * *

 

The pups and I were awakened by the human shouting that it was time to go, and this time when we piled into the car, Sam and Dean both sat in the back and I sat between them. I rested my head on Sam's knee and periodically licked his arm, but I also licked Dean occasionally because he deserved comfort too. And they both scratched my head in just the right spot. Their fear scents weren't as strong as they had been, so I counted that as a win. I was pretty sure that as long as this human was around, there would always be some fear scent. _So I would have to get rid of him. But how?_

 

While I daydreamed about various ways to murder the human, the car sped onwards to some unknown destination, and my pups settled in for a long day of petting me. The car stopped before the sun set, but it was late in the afternoon.

 

“You are going to behave for Bobby,” the human said. “And if I hear anything about the two of you creating a problem for him, running away or misbehaving in any way, you’re _going_ to regret it. Now get out. I want you both on your best behavior.”

 

He got out of the car, and the pups followed more sedately. Sam hesitated with the door, holding it open so I could hop out. There was less fear in their scents now, instead the scent permeating the most was apprehension. I wasn’t sure what they were anticipating, _but I would protect them from it._

 

The man knocked on the door and after a period of time, the door opened, revealing another man.

 

“John! I told you not to come back here if you valued your life! I’m not afraid of shooting you.” He spoke in a low growl, eyes flashing with anger.

 

The first man- John? -didn’t so much as flinch. He didn’t have a fear scent, but the anger was always prevalent. I didn’t like it. The second man was loud, but there was only a little anger in his scent, suggesting he was mostly bark.

 

“I know, but the kids have been getting into trouble as of late, think you can keep an eye on them for awhile?”

 

“Sure, whatever,” the second man said. “Is that everything?”

 

“Yeah. I have a hunt lined up, so I’ll just be on my way.” John turned around and trotted back down the steps with a mumbled warning to my pups to behave. And then he entered the car and it rumbled away.

 

“Alright…. Sam, Dean, why don’t you come inside?” He had no fear or hate scents, just peaceably content. (And a little surprise. He had just had two pups dropped off on his doorstep.)

 

“Can we have lunch, Uncle Bobby?” Dean asked.

 

“Sure. Grilled cheese sound good?”

 

My boys both inclined their heads as they followed him inside.

 

“Wait,” Sam said. “Dad left with our things.”

 

“Fuck,” the man- Bobby?- muttered quietly. I could barely hear it, and it looked like neither of my pups caught the sound. I would have to teach them to have better hearing. This might have been an insignificant muttered thought, but that didn’t mean that there wouldn’t be important sounds inaudible to them that they would need to hear. But how to improve their range of hearing. That was the question.

 

The door closed behind me and the man looked down as he shut it. “Uh… Why is there a dog?”

 

Sam’s fear scent returned, this time stronger than it had been even in the car. There was also overwhelming sadness and I did not comprehend.

* * *

 

When Bobby woke up, he had expected it to be a fairly relaxing day. He had closed the Scrap yard for the day to handle several more…. Personal matters, and had settled in for a day of keeping tabs on the phone, as well as making sure that everyone in town was ready for the coming autumn.

 

But come mid-afternoon, he heard a familiar engine rumbling in the distance, and everything had changed.

 

Before he had realized it, he’d had two kids dumped on his doorstep without any of their belongings, or really any idea as to why, and a strange dog that John apparently couldn’t see. It was fairly obvious that the dog was a ghost, as it flickered in and out of sight on occasion, but it also seemed to be attached to both of the boys.

 

“Anyone want to explain why there’s a dog?” It had been such a simple question, and one that normally wouldn’t have caused any problems, but almost immediately after it had been posed, several things happened.

 

Dean had turned to look at Sam, as if he was the only one with answers, but the most concerning part was what happened with the younger boy.

 

He had opened and shut his mouth several times, as if trying to explain away what happened, but before long, he froze, face paling as he started to cry.

 

“Sam? Are ya alright boy?” Bobby whispered, watching as Sam seemed to just be more and more consumed by his panic.

 

“Bobby? Is Sam ok?” Dean asked, visibly frightened by what was happening. As it was, the dog was whining, and Bobby had no choice but to shake his head, reaching out to steady the now shaking Sam.

 

“Dean, I need you to run upstairs, and get me a couple blankets, as well as a damp cloth. I’m gonna get Sam to the couch and settled, so take your time, but don’t take too long.” He spoke quietly, waiting for Dean to run out of the room before walking closer to Sam, carefully lifting him into his arms.

 

Looking down at the dog that was now trying to paw at his pants, Bobby rolled his eyes. “Come on you, let’s get your boy settled. Maybe he can tell me why you’re attached to him, and how it even happened in the first place when he calms down.” Carrying Sam the short distance to the couch, he gently laid the boy down, keeping him mostly upright against several pillows, before backing away to let the dog climb up with him. “You keep him warm, ya hear?”

 

It didn’t take long before Dean came back, thudding down the stairs like a man possessed, holding damn near half the blankets that Bobby owned. He watched with a raised eyebrow as the boy stumbled into the room, barely able to drop the blankets before crashing into one of the armchairs in the room, his breathing visibly off, and clutching at his chest.

 

“You alright son?” Bobby was almost afraid of the answer, watching Dean closely as he nodded, pointing back towards Sam as he leaned back, giving Bobby the barest hint of of a glance at dark bruises that creeped towards his collarbone.

 

“Don’t worry ‘bout me Bobby,” he was gasping out between breaths, clearly in a significant amount of pain. “Jus’ take care of Sam.” There was a worrying slur to his words, but there wasn’t anything Bobby could do.

 

With a sigh, he shook his head. “Alright, but you’re letting me look at those ribs as soon as Sam’s stable, you hear?” Without waiting for a response, he picked up one of the blankets, a thick quilt that Karen’s mother had given them, and shooed the dog off of Sam.

 

When the dog started whining, Bobby rolled his eyes. “Hush you, I’m not doin’ anything to him. You can have him back as soon as I get him comfortable.” After gently laying the blanket over Sam, and making sure that it wasn’t bunched up in strange ways that would be uncomfortable, Bobby took a moment to carefully slide off Sam’s shoes, before backing away. “Alright, go to your boy. I gotta get lunch started for these two anyway.”

 

Turning to walk back into the kitchen, Bobby sighed as he took a moment to lean over the sink, trying to understand what all was happening.

 

First, there was something that was causing Sam to have panic attacks. Then there was the glimpse of bruising that he had seen on Dean, and the clear pain written all over his face, as well as the damn ghost dog that was following them both around, flickering in and out of sight, growing ever stronger with Sam’s reactions. Something horrid had happened to the boys, and recently.

 

And if he wanted to help them, be would need to work quickly, and make sure that they would be safe during their time in Hartford. There wasn’t a lot he could do with Sam right now, but he could do one thing to start helping Dean.

 

“Hey Dean? Can ya come help me make lunch?”

* * *

 

I hopped up onto the couch and crawled onto Sam’s lap again when the human walked away. As if I’d stay away. Sam was mine from the first moment he’d offered me food. He was still crying and I could not bear the overwhelming sadness permeating through his scent. The pup was  _ my boy  _ and I would not tolerate such feelings. I had to make him happy, I had to. Clearly the human hadn’t managed to fix it yet, so I would just have to do it.

 

The salty substance was still falling down his face, so I licked at it. I couldn’t really taste it, but it tasted like my boy so there was no reason to stop. And he clearly needed a bath.  _ I would provide. I would always provide. “It’s okay.” _ I didn’t speak loudly, because I knew that a loud noise would not be productive. And then I repeated myself.  _ “It’s going to be okay.”  _ Clearly it wasn’t okay yet, because if it was okay then there wouldn’t be so much sadness in his scent. But that didn’t matter,  _ because I would make it better. That was my duty, and I would not fail it. _

 

“Hey, Bones,” Sam said quietly, running a hand down by back in a repetitive and gentle motion. He wasn’t making the happy noise yet, but I figured he do that once there was less sadness in his scent. Maybe humans had to let all of the emotion run its course before they could reach the opposite emotion. Or maybe I was doing the wrong thing.

 

I finished licking Sam’s face clean, until there was no further traces of watery salt. It wasn’t leaking from his eyes anymore, so I figured he was clean enough. Now to get the happy noises. I liked Bobby, even if he had caused my boy to feel sad, but he wasn’t doing anything to elicit the happy noise, and  _ I needed to hear the happy noise. _

 

Before I could make a decision about what to do about creating the happy noises, my nose was assaulted by the overwhelming scent of physical pain. Seconds later, Dean came in carrying a big pile of human pelts and dropped them on the floor before crashing into the chair. Even from Sam’s lap I could hear the shallow breathing and I worried. Pups with the raspy breathing sickness never survived very long, and I knew my boy would be deeply affected if anything happened to his littermate. But what could I do? My boy was still weeping, and I had to  _ fix  _ it.

 

I heard the spoken words between the man and pup. I knew why the younger pup was my priority, but why was he also the other pup’s priority? Where was the instinct of self-preservation? Surely they both knew that raspy breathing sickness was bad? But if it had to wait, I would get the happy noises from my pup.

 

I didn't appreciate being shooed off the couch but there wasn't much I could do as the human started spreading the pelt over my boy. At least he'd be warm then. I hopped back up, but my boy wasn't focusing, not really.

 

So after a moment of thought, I jumped down off the couch. With a quick glance to make sure that Sam was looking at me,  _ he was, even as it was morose _ , I rolled over onto my back and stuck my tongue out of my mouth. That had always gotten me a treat before I met Sam, so maybe it would work here. Sam was still watching me, but he wasn’t laughing, so I wiggled like I was scratching the lower region of my back. I couldn’t feel it and it hadn’t itched since I’d been in the car the day before, but it never hurt to get a head start on those problems. And anything for my human.

 

Sam still wasn’t making any noises. But he was no longer producing any sad scents, and I could  _ almost  _ taste a happier scent. Dean on the other hand, was making the happy noises, even as they accompanied more pain scent.  _ Why would it hurt to laugh? _

 

If the rolling over trick wouldn't work, I’d just have to do something else. So I rolled all the way over onto my belly and stretched up so I was sitting on my haunches. And then I stretched upward some more, and lifting my paws into the air like I was trying to snatch a bird out of the air. They never came low enough, but that didn’t mean I hadn’t ever tried.

 

“Bones… what are you doing?” Sam asked.

 

Through his now higher pitched noises, Dean choked out, “I think your dogs does tricks. Do you think she can do them on command?”

 

What a silly question. I didn’t know  _ all  _ the tricks, but I knew what humans wanted when they said some of the trick names. But I only did them when I wanted to do them, I didn’t have to follow anyone’s commands. I was my own soul.

 

“Do you know Roll Over?” Sam asked.

 

I put my front paws back on the ground. Sam wasn’t just anyone, and if he asked,  _ of course I’d obey. Why would I do anything else for my master? I was a good dog, and he was a good boy. And he still wasn’t laughing, which was my goal. _ Hadn’t I already rolled over once? But if he wanted me to do it again, I would. I rolled all the way over, and then I rolled all the way over in the other direction. I stuck out my tongue and wagged my tail and then I rolled over a third time.  _ “See? See? I can be a good dog!” _

 

And that was when I heard it. The sound I’d been hoping to hear. The happy sounds were quiet at first, just barely audible, but after a moment of me continuing to wag my tail and my head, they got louder, as along with the noises, I could also smell a tentative hint of happiness.  _ Good. _

 

“Do you know how to play dead?” Dean asked.

 

I froze, glancing in the direction of  _ my boy. _ The second pup was important because he was special to  _ my boy, _ and if he’d said any other trick I would have followed through for Sam. But I wasn’t stupid, and I could smell the pain coming from my boy as soon as the words were spoken. I returned to his lap without consideration of anything, and he wrapped his arms around me even as he started to sob audibly.  _ He needed to know I wasn’t about to leave him. I was still here, nothing irreversible had happened.  _ Nothing had changed, except we were here now instead of where we’d been before John had come for Sam.  _ John was the reason my boy was whimpering and leaking all over my fur.  _ If I could hurt him, I would.

 

“Hey, Dean? Can you come help me make lunch?”

  
There was a mistruth in the human’s voice, but it didn’t seem the same as a lie with the intention to harm. If anything, it smelled like he genuinely worried about the pups,  _ both of them, _ and just wanted to help. Maybe he knew there was nothing else they could do for my boy right now. Once he calmed, perhaps, but not right now. I closed my eyes and settled in for the long run.

 


	2. Chapter 2

“Hey, Dean? Can you come help me make lunch?” Bobby asked, shouting from the kitchen.

 

Dean cringed from the volume, fighting to be able to stand up as the pain took over everything. After about a minute though, he was able to stand, slowly stumbling towards the kitchen. “Where do you want me?” He managed, bracing against a chair once he made it to the kitchen.

 

Bobby turned, looking Dean over for a moment, before pointing to the chair Dean was leaning on. “Sit, we need to talk.”

 

It took a moment for Dean to leverage himself into the chair, but he felt so much better once he was off his feet. After another moment to catch his breath, he looked up at Bobby. “What do you need?”

 

Bobby sighed, digging through the fridge for the cheese. “Dean, I really don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but I need you to take off your shirt.”

 

Staring at Bobby in shock, Dean shook his head after a minute, sighing as best as he could. “Damn Bobby, at least buy me dinner and take me to a movie first,” he mumbled, staring at the table as his hands began to shake.

 

He wanted to show him, to have help to try and get out, to get Sam out, but he was still haunted by everything that he had been told the first time that anything had happened.

 

“Come on, Boy, you know I just want to help you, and I can’t do that if you don’t let me.”

 

Dean’s breath shook, and his vision began to blur. “I,” he sighed again, shaking his head. “I don’t know if I can.”

 

He could feel Bobby kneel next to him, and a hand came to rest on his knee. “There ain’t nothing to be afraid of. You’ve got nothing under there I haven’t seen before.”

 

He shook his head, running a hand through his hair. “Don’t know if I can get the shirt off.” He laughed weakly, staring at the wall as he fought to keep his tears from falling.

 

Dean could hear Bobby sigh, before the hand on his knee tightened its grip ever so slightly, but was still comforting. “I could cut it if you want, and get you one that would be easier for you. We could tell Sam that you spilled something on it.”

 

Well that wasn’t an option, this was a shirt he had actually bought for himself, with honest money, and nothing that had been gained from hustling or anything of that nature. “If we can get it off without cutting it, you’ve got yourself a deal.” He finally mumbled, turning to look back at Bobby.

 

“We can do that. Come on now, raise your arms as far as you can. Pretend you’re three again if it makes you feel better about it.” All too quickly, Bobby was pulling at the bottom of Dean’s shirt, and he had no option but to raise his arms, closing his eyes against the shame that was filling him.

 

Silence filled the kitchen, and Dean could feel a feather light touch against his ribs, but even that was enough to have him fighting against a scream.

 

“Fuck, Dean, how are you still walking around?” Bobby was whispering, and Dean shook his head. He didn’t know how he was still working, how he hadn’t just collapsed yet, but he needed to keep going, to stay strong for Sam.

 

With a sigh, Bobby helped him to take his shirt off, before standing. “I’m gonna get you that shirt, and one of the good painkillers. You stay still, alright?”

 

Bobby left then, and Dean was alone for several minutes before he came back. “Take this, and put on the shirt when you can. I’m gonna start those sandwiches, and then we’re gonna go shopping for your stuff, get some food, and get you boys to a doctor that’s trustworthy, alright?” He turned away without waiting for Dean's assent and started fixing to make sandwiches.

* * *

 

“Sam, think ya can eat this sandwich for me?”

I shifted slightly, turning my head to see that Bobby was holding a plate of something that smelled divine and a clear glass of something equally clear,  _ water _ . My pups could keep him, I decided. He would keep them fed. They needed to eat so they could grow stronger and bigger and look after themselves better.

“Not hungry,” Sam whispered as his grip tightened in my fur.

The human sighed, and put the plate and the glass on the short table nearby. “One bite, Sam, and then if you’re still not hungry you can eat it later.”

I licked Sam’s arm, trying to comfort him and convince him to take the offered food.  _ You do not turn down food. Never, never. _

The man sat down on the chair on the other side of the coffee table.

“Okay,” my boy said hesitantly. He leaned over me to take the sandwich and took a bite. After he chewed and swallowed he added, “It tastes good.” He ate slowly, and sipped at the water between bites, but eventually he’d eaten all the food.

“Would you like any more?”

“No, thank you.” Sam put the plate and glass on the table and leaned back down on the stack of pillows.

“Since your dad decided not to leave you and your brother with your things, I was thinking we could drive to town and get some things, and then maybe eat dinner at the Roadhouse. Do you think you’re up for that?”

Sam shrugged, with a quiet, “Sure.”

* * *

 

That’s how we ended up in another moving car. This one made a different kind of purr, but I couldn’t figure out where the noise was coming from and Bobby shooed me away when I tried to investigate. So I just curled up in the backseat between the two boys and they petted me.

We arrived at a place with many interesting smells. There had been many people here, but there were also scents that resembled people but were very different. I wondered what they were if they weren’t human. Some of them smelled like both wolf and human, but that was just tales to scare pups, weren’t they?

“They won’t get mad about Bones, will they?” Sam asked quietly as we crossed through the threshold, waved in by the moving doors.

“It’ll be fine,” Bobby promised, but I was sure he was hiding something even as he wasn’t lying. “The people here are more open-minded than John. And they’re  _ all  _ good folks.”

“All of them?” Dean asked.

“Yup. Good folks, just living life as best they can. You have to understand son, there’s nothing wrong with being a little different, but if you’re gonna to stay here, you hafta be a lot more tolerant than John or there’s gonna be problems.”

I could feel as the older pup glanced at me, and then he said, “Okay.”

Bobby took my pups to pick out their human furs. W _ ouldn’t it be more efficient if they grew their own? Everything else did. _ It was really boring, so I wandered around a little to make sure nothing scary was going to sneak up and attack, but I didn’t find anything suspicious and I didn’t run into any people.

Eventually Bobby said the pups had picked out enough furs, and asked if there was anything else they needed. Dean was quick to say they were good, but Sam spoke up. “Will we go to school here?”

“The local school starts in a week or two, I was thinking we could just get the essentials tonight. I know what we should get next.” He led the way to an aisle with many scents and I didn’t like it. He added things to the four wheeled object he was pushing around to put everything in. He mumbled, “Hair brushes, toothbrushes, deodorant.” Then, louder, “Do you kids have a preferred toothpaste?” Dean mumbled mint, so something else got thrown into the cart.

He led us out of the aisle and back towards where we'd come in but before we could reach wherever we were going, Sam stopped.

Bobby glanced at Sam then where Sam was looking. I didn't really understand what this display was, but it's important for later so let me explain. It was August, right before school started, so there were school things prominently displayed and easy to find, and my master had seen something he wanted a lot more than anything else. “Do you see something you want?” Bobby asked gently.

My boy gnawed on his lower lip. “No,” he mumbled, turning away. Even then I found smell the lie.

Bobby sighed, and then picked a slightly bigger box of what Sam had been eyeing and a pad of paper off the shelf and added them to the cart. “Do we need anything else before we leave?”

Both pups declined to make any more suggestions, so Bobby led the way to a machine where he proceeded to wrap everything with plastic bags and fed it green paper. I wondered what the paper tasted like. Was it yummy?

We rode in the car to another destination, but this took less time. There were more people here.

“You're sure Bones is welcome in a restaurant?” Sam asked.

“This is a special restaurant, and I know the owner pretty well. I'm sure she'll be fine with it.”

“But Bones is a ghost. Isn't it a bad idea to be so obvious about supernatural things?” Dean asked.

“This town is special,” Bobby said, almost the same words from earlier. “Bones won't be the strangest thing they've ever seen.”

Bobby led the way to the threshold of the building. This one didn't have doors that opened on their own. I sat down because there was something strange here. There were scents, many many scents. Everyone in town could have passed this way. But so few of the scents were fully human.

I had sat on a mat, and it clearly had writing on it, but I couldn't read.

“Any who would shed blood here is unwelcome,” Sam read. “What are they referring to?”

“Not all supernatural creatures are bad. There's no human that is all good or all bad. The hunters and supernatural beings here recognize that. There is not hunting of supernatural creatures in Hartford, South Dakota. They do not hurt humans, or us, and we don't touch them. If you can't abide by these rules, you would no longer be welcome here. This is important.”

Dean smelled worried, but he didn't say anything. “They don't hurt people?”

“No. And depending on what they are, we all do what we can to make sure they have what they need to survive. I promise. Not all death is necessary. Come inside.” He pushed the door open. “Welcome to the Harvelle Roadhouse.”

The scents were unbelievable. Chicken, turkey, cheese, pastrami, deep fried onions, peanut butter, pretzels. I was in scent heaven. I could not believe how much food there was here.  _ I could have eaten forever. _

“Bones, come on,” Sam said from ahead.

Shaking off the beautiful scents I just wanted to investigate, I trotted happily after my boy. There were almost the many scents from the patrons of the crowded restaurant, but they seemed less significant, somehow.

I did not fail to notice the many stares, and I followed my master closely in case anyone got any stupid ideas. There was chatter about us and I heard every word, but none of it was significant.

And then they piled into a booth in the back. Bobby and Dean sat one side and Sam across from them. I jumped up to sit next to Sam before anyone could say otherwise. I would protect my boy.

Sam scratched my head and my tail sagged. Such a good boy.

A woman approached moments later. “Singer, what brings you by?”

“Hello, Ellen,” Bobby said. “This is Sam and Dean, Winchester. Their daddy left them on my doorstep before I could run him off, but he's gone for now.”

The chatter all went silent as the people all around stopped what they were doing to glance in our direction. There was a hint of fear in the air, but none that felt super dangerous.

“They know the rules,” Bobby added hastily. “They mean no harm.”

“No, no,” Ellen agreed. “They're children.”

“Is Jody here?” Bobby asked. “I'd like a word with her sometime soon, if possible.”

“She's not here yet, but I can let her know. Can I get you boys something to eat?”

Sam shrugged.

“Do you have chicken strips?” Dean asked. “Sammy and I'd share.”

She laughed.”A'right then. And your usual, Singer?” His head inclined. “Then it'll be right out. And what 'bout this dog o’ yours?”

“Yes!” everything smelled glorious and I just wanted to taste something. Anything would be good.

“Bones!” My pup sounded scandalized and his face had turned crimson. He opened his mouth ad though to apologize to Ellen, but she laughed and then stopped him. “It's all good.”

She turned around and walked away.

“Maybe she'll find a ghost chicken for Bones!” Dean laughed, but I was still concerned by the scent of pain and the short breaths.

“I need to make a phone call,” Bobby said. “Can you two stay here while I do that?”

The pups nodded as Bobby stood up and stepped away from the table. My boys sat quietly while they waited for him to return.

The food came before Bobby returned. “Bobby must have stepped out then? That's fine, the food will keep.” She moved two plates of chicken strips onto the table in front of the pups. “Chicken strips for you both, and I brought some scraps for, did you say her name is Bones?”

Sam nodded again. “Thank you, Ma'am.”

“None of that now, you can just call me Ellen.” The woman put a paper plate by me and I could have howled. So many yummies!

Bobby came back while I was chewing on my scraps. They tasted as good as they smelled. Bits of meat and fried vegetables, some bread. It was divine. I ate the entire plate too because I couldn't pass up on the lingering tastes. I could still taste the lingering flavors in the food even though everything was in my stomach which made it the best meal I'd ever eaten.

Bobby was watching me in disbelief. “Do I have to feed you too?”

Sam laughed and I watched as they ate their food. (My boy tried to sneak me bites of chicken but I mostly refused because pups need to eat.)

“Did the call go well?” Dean smelled anxious, but the question was a good one.

“It went well enough. Hartford has a very good, trustworthy doctor and we're going to swing by after we eat. I called ahead to make sure he can see you kids.”

Dean and Sam both smelled like denial, but neither objected and when they were picking at their food and not eating it, Bobby shook his head. “Let's go.”

He tried to give the woman the green paper but she shook her head, laughing. Then she gave him a white box and the pups put the scraps of leftovers in it.

And then we rode inside the car to a place with all the people scents but also the scent of chemicals that would have burned my nose under other circumstances.

Before we could get out of the car, Bobby reached into one of the plastics. He pulled out the white paper and the box. “Sam? These are for you. You can bring them inside and color, if you'd like.” He handed the objects to my pup.

Sam took them. “Thank you!”

We got out and went inside. There was one person sitting. They smelled weird. Like pups and sweet things, but underneath it, an electricity that was infinite.

He stared at me. Everything went still and all the noises I could hear went silent. This on my lasted for an instant, but I also noticed that his eyes glowed just while everything was quiet. Strange. And just for a moment,  _ there was so much anger. _

“Singer,” he greeted when everything was normal and Bobby was leading the way towards a corner. 'Who're these children?”

“Trickster,” he responded. His tone contained annoyance, but it was absent from his scent. It felt more like when a parent growls softly at the pups chewing on their ears. “John Winchester left his sons on my doorstep.”

Sam sat and opened the box of colored sticks and started moving them along the paper and grinned. The happy smell was almost the strongest I'd smelled it since John Winchester had come and I liked that improvement.

Dean was still in pain, so I rubbed against his legs. “Hello Bones,” he mumbled weakly, petting me.

A few minutes later, the interior door opened, and another man stepped out. Like Trickster, he had the infinite scent, but he also smelled like people and the clean. It wasn't a great people scent, but at the same time, their good health was a good thing. “Hello, Bobby.”

“Doctor Raphael,” the human said. “Sam, you sit tight, okay? The doctor is just going to look at your brother, make sure he's okay. Okay?”

Sam nodded. He glanced at the doctor. “Raphael, like the archangel?” There was a touch if awe in his voice, and his scent was happily pleased.

“It's just a name, Sam,” Bobby said. “Angels don't exist. Dean?” He walked towards the doctor and the pup followed. I rubbed Sam's leg, but I whined because Dean's pain was so much stronger.

“Silly, Bones,” Sam whispered. “Go on then, I'll be fine.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pov in this chapter changes a lot, so here's the rundown. In order we have, 1st person Raphael, 3rd person Gabriel, 1st person Bones, 1st person Raphael, 3rd person Bobby. Enjoy!

(Raphael’s first person pov)

 

It had been nearly twenty years since I came to this small town. In that time, I had seen many happenings, from children learning and growing, to elders passing on, and everything in between. It had been a peaceful time, with nearly no conflict, and when there was conflict, it was typically little more than childhood fights upon a playground, and were consequently solved quickly.

 

I had even been able to find my brother here, after so many years spent apart. It had been a good life, and a peaceful one.

 

But as with any time of peace, turmoil was just around the corner. And as I had feared, I had been able to feel the presence of a hunter coming through town. A hunter with dark intentions. All those who would potentially be harmed had hidden, but it seemed that there would be little need, as the hunter merely passed through, with little more than a pause at one of the residences of a local hunter on the edge of town.

 

“Do you know what he was here for?” my brother was asking, but I could only shake my head.

 

“Unfortunately no, but there are now two children in town that there were not before, both of them bearing great pain within their hearts.”

 

My brother was seething, and I could not blame him. He had always been fond of children, and was incredibly protective of them. “The minute you find out who that hunter is, you tell me. I’ve got some digging to do.”

 

I nodded, turning to look at my brother. “Be careful Brother, we don’t know how much he knows about the town, and it would be dangerous to bring any attention to us.”

 

My brother rolled his eyes then, before walking towards the door to my office. “Don’t worry about it, I’ve got it all under control. Wouldn’t be the first time that I’ve gone after a bad apple before.”

 

With a sigh, I shook my head, before turning back to my work. If I was correct, then the hunter they were left with would be bringing the children to me, if only for a basic examination, and soon.

 

I spent the rest of my day as I usually did, helping those who needed it, and healing the bumps and bruises of childhood that had been gained on the playground, or with friends. But by the time the evening came around, the phone on my desk began to ring.

 

“Raphael, how can I help you?” I answered, knowing who the person on the other line would be.

 

“It’s Singer. Look, I’ve got two boys that were dropped on my doorstep, and they need care of your sort bad. Think you can squeeze ‘em into your schedule?”

 

Sighing softly, I nodded. “I can see them. Bring them when you can, I will wait for you.”

 

There was a noise from the other end of the call, before Singer began to speak again. “God, you have no idea how thankful I am that you’re here. The older one, Dean, he’s injured real bad, and I don’t know if anything’s been done to the younger one either.”

 

“As long as they still breathe, I swear to you that I will do whatever I can to ease their pain.”

 

We talked for a few more minutes, until Singer finally hung up, promising to be at the office within an hour.

 

Hanging my head, I sighed once more.

 

I hated any case that involved harm towards children that wasn’t accidental. An arm could break from a fall on the playground, or an ankle could be twisted while playing soccer, but it was not easy for a child to harm themselves intentionally, especially in the ways that Singer had mentioned having seen. It just didn’t happen.

 

And as I set up my office, my brother once more invading my waiting area, I fought to remain calm.

 

If this was a case in which they had been harmed by an authority figure in their life, it wouldn’t do for them to see yet another angry being.

* * *

 

To say that Gabriel was confused would be a bit of an understatement.

Scratch that, it would be a huge understatement.

Seriously, what kind of human, much less a hunter, just leaves their kids with some random person that they’ve only met a few times before? Especially when they’re injured?

Pretty much every human out there would keep their kids close when they got hurt, even more so if it was as bad as Singer was saying it was. It was common sense, and left over instincts from back when kids didn’t make it out of childhood as often as anyone would’ve liked.

Which left him with several worrying possibilities. Either the kid had hurt himself and hid it from his parent, and only just now was caught, or more concerning, it was something that had been done to him, and he was hiding it in an attempt to protect the other kid. Neither option really boded well for the parent, and he already knew that he would have a rather hefty mission once the kids were seen.

Not that Raph would really let anything remain hidden for long. Guy had a way of making you talk, and before you knew it, you were spilling details you never thought you would. He was pretty good at that sort of thing too, but even after so many years of practice, he wasn’t anywhere near as good at it as Raph was.

But that was an issue to lament another day. Singer was walking in, two kids trailing behind him like two rather reluctant ducklings after their equally reluctant mother.

And then he saw the dog.

He caused time to freeze, needing more than a moment to process everything that was going on there.

There was a dog. But she wasn’t a dog anymore. She was a ghost, attached to the soul of one Sam Winchester, future vessel to Lucifer. He was outraged, angry beyond words in any language in the past or future could ever manage to properly convey. How dare he end the life of such a beautiful, vibrant creature? How could one so young be so cruel, so hateful, as to do such a thing?

But as he looked closer at the frozen figures, he noticed something off about the situation. Not only was the dog bound directly to the boy’s soul, which should have been impossible in the first place, but the way the boy was standing, reaching to touch the dog’s head, as if seeking comfort in a strange new situation, it spoke of the love that the boy had for the creature. And the dog’s head was raised, allowing the boy to take his comfort from her. The love between them was clear, so what had caused the dog to pass?

Knowing that he wouldn’t get the answers from staring at a single moment in time, he allowed things to resume, but kept a close eye on them all as they entered.

Raph came into the main lobby quickly, shaking Singer’s hand as he looked both the boys over quickly, before quietly leading the older one towards the back, leaving the younger sitting on the far side of the waiting area.

It didn’t escape Gabriel’s notice that the dog had left with the older kid, but that was alright. He wanted to talk with the younger one anyway, and see if he could get a grasp on the situation.

Standing from the chair in the corner, he made a show of stretching, and paced around the waiting area for a few minutes before sitting a few chairs away from the kid. Taking note of the pad of paper and box of colored pencils, and not the cheap kind either, he decided to start with that.

“What are you drawing?” He asked, smiling at the kid when he looked up.

As he had somewhat expected, the kid shrugged, looking back at his paper. “My dog. It doesn’t look anything like her though.”

Leaning to look at the paper, Gabriel smiled. It wasn’t a skillful drawing by any means, but it was still something to be proud of as a starting point. “It really isn’t as bad as you seem to think it is. Mind if I give you a few tips?”

The kid seemed to think over his offer for a moment, before nodding, bringing the paper and pencils closer.

“Alright, first thing’s first.” Gabriel flipped to a new page, before looking at the kid. “Everything you will ever draw, no matter if it’s a person, animal, building, or a plant, they can all be broken down into basic shapes. Circles, squares, triangles, you get the picture. As a result, the first thing you want to do is outline all those basic shapes, and from there start adding in the details.”

As he spoke, he demonstrated what he was talking about, drawing first a handful of circles and squares, before taking those shapes and refining them into a semi realistic sketch of the boy’s dog. After adding a few more details that added to the more ethereal nature of the pet, he handed the pad back to the boy, who was now looking at him in awe. “It’s not as complicated as some other methods people use, but it’s worked for me well enough over the years.”

The kid looked at the sketch for a moment, before looking away, shame filling his being. “I’m never gonna be able to draw that good.” He mumbled, causing Gabriel to panic slightly. He had never been good at dealing with kids that were upset with themselves, but something told him that this was one kid that could not be upset at himself for long.

Placing a hand on the kid’s shoulder, he spoke quietly, so as not to potentially spook him. “Hey, don't say that. No one gets good at art from the first sketch, just like no one gets to open a doctor’s office the first time they put a bandage on a kid’s scraped knee. It takes time, and no small bit of practice to get good at anything, and if you want to have that level of skill, you need to work for it, no matter what it is.” Pointing towards his sketch, he continued. “This sketch that I did just now, it’s not any better than the one you made. And the one you made isn’t any worse than the one that I made.”

“But how? Mine’s a giant mess, and yours looks awesome.”

Gabriel grinned then, fishing for some candy that he knew was in his pocket. As his luck would have it, he just so happened to have a small chocolate bar, as well as a lollipop. “Take these candies for example. Would you say that one is better than the other, just because more people tend to buy one over the other?” He waited for the kid to shake his head, and continued. “Exactly. They’re two different candies, made by two different companies, in two different styles. And the same goes for art. Just because someone likes mine better doesn’t mean that no one’s ever going to like yours.”

“Now, I think your brother’s almost done back there, so why don’t you take one of these, and mention that wrist of yours to the doc.” The kid paused then, looking down at his wrist, which he had been subtly rubbing for almost the entire time they had been talking.

As he reached to take the chocolate bar, he frowned softly. “How did you know? Not even Dean knew.”

With a wink, Gabriel leaned back. “Don’t worry about it kid. Just get it taken care of, and I’ll give you another art lesson. Deal?”

The kid grinned then, looking at the hallway where his dog was now waiting for him. “Deal!”

* * *

 

(Bones’ first person pov)

I followed Dean and Bobby through the hallway and into a small room. The Doctor had glanced curiously at me, but he had said nothing. I didn’t care for the smell of the small room. It was too clean for my liking, the cleaner made it hard to differentiate the smells of who had been here before. The only thing I could tell was that no harm had come to anyone.  _ That was good enough for me. _

Dean took a seat on the tall chair bed off to the edge of the room, and Bobby took a seat in one of the extra normal chairs. There was one spinning chair, and Raphael sat there. The pup raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you supposed to take my height and weight?”

The doctor smiled gentle. His emotional pheromones were all wonky compared to a human, but I was able to pick out what I thought was possibly sympathy. There was a touch of anger, not at my boy, but he was really good at hiding it. I hadn’t made a decision on whether or not I liked him, but I knew from the infinite power that he wasn’t someone to make angry. “I don’t like to use height and weight as a factor of whether or not someone is healthy. Most doctors would start by measuring your vitals, but since I already know you’re in pain, that tells me that your blood pressure is going to be unusually high, automatically. If you were running a fever, that could help make a diagnosis, but I think it would be better to find out exactly what’s wrong with your ribs before checking that out, okay?”

Dean shrugged. “Are you going to x-ray them?” he asked.

“Most people would have to x-ray them for a diagnosis. Has Bobby told you anything about me or the people here?”

“Not really.” He rubbed the hem of the fur between his fingers. “Not all supernatural creatures are bad and some live peacefully here.”

“That’s true!” He smiled, and I liked him more because if anything, he was friendly. “I’m the only doctor in Hartford, but I do have some healing magic and I use it to help people.” He tilted his head when Dean shifted the fabric in his fingers again. “You’re thinking of the witches who gain their power by pledging their souls to demons, yes? That’s not the only source of magic, and it’s not where mine originates.” This sounded like a promise, and I believed him. The doctor didn’t smell dark, or evil, I would know. Not even all the cleaning supplies in the world could have hidden those smells. “I don’t tell that to everyone who comes by, but I’m telling you because I want you to understand why I’m doing things a little different, okay?” 

Dean nodded, but he didn’t let go of the hem of his shirt.

“I do need to ask you take your shirt off,” he said. “I need to see where you’re injured, okay?”

The pup nodded again, but his face flushed the rose color. He tried undoing the clasps on the fur, but his fingers were shaking too much to get it off so a few moments later he pulled the entire thing up over his head, wincing as it jarred his side.

The healer hissed through clenched teeth. He was angry, but not at my boy, and I could feel the electricity deep inside him stirring with wrath. 

My pup’s side was marred with angry red purple bruising stirring through his skin. His breath had hitched again, still rasping at the best of times. I hoped the doctor would do something about it, I didn’t want my boy to have to suffer from a lost littermate. And I didn’t want this young lost pup to suffer needlessly. I whined because I could smell the physical pain and I didn’t like it. Not one bit, not at all.

Raphael glanced in my direction, but he didn’t say anything as he stood up and approached the pup. “I need you to breathe, okay? It’ll only hurt for a second.”

Dean closed his eyes as Raphael put his fingers just above the highest point of the bruising. Only I could see that his eyes were glowing a soft purple color as the worst of the bruises faded from the boy’s body. “Oh! That feels way better!”

“I would imagine so.” He backed away. “You’ll have to let your body heal the rest of the damage, but that should take care of the worst of the pain.” He glanced away. “It’s not uncommon for people with rib injuries to get pneumonia, but you shouldn’t have to worry about that either, as long as you take it easy and don’t over do it. But if you come down with a cold or have any further problems breathing, please come back.”

“What could you possibly do about a cold?” Dean asked. I didn’t think he was intentionally being rude, but I would have cuffed him if he’d been any closer to the ground.

“One of the more natural things that causes ribs to be bruised or broken is coughing, so if you came down with a cold now and did hurt your ribs more, it would make you more susceptible to pneumonia. I would prefer for you not to get that, if possible. Do you have any other questions?”

“The boys are starting school in a few weeks, are they going to need any vaccines before then?” Bobby asked.

Raphael shrugged. “Do you have their shot records?”

Dean bit his lip. “I have the shot records.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a bunch of folded paper and started rifling through it until he came up with two pieces of yellow paper. He held them out towards the doctor.

He read through both pieces of paper and handed them back. “Okay. You and Sam are going to need some more vaccines before school starts, but I think they can wait until sometime next week. Is there anything else bothering you or that you want to talk about?”

Dean shook his head. “That’s everything. Thank you!” He put the long fur back on.

“Just doing what I can,” the doctor said. “I know you probably don’t want to answer this but I have to ask. Were you in a car crash? I haven’t seen very many rib fractures in that area.”

Dean paled, flinching to the side before he could restrain himself. “Not a car wreck,” he said. “I don’t remember.”

I did not smell any lie in the pup. A little bit of fear, but not as much as before. I was pleased there was no rasping in his breaths, and that the pain had diminished to some extent.

The doctor did not appear to believe him, but he didn’t question him further. He moved to open the door. “If that’s everything, I’ll see you next week.”

“Awesome!” He scrambled off the chair and bolted through the door. I followed, but at a more leisure pace because I was curious if he would say anything else.

Bobby walked towards the door and as he exited, Raphael followed. Dean was well out of earshot having gone straight for the waiting room. “I healed his concussion,” Raphael said quietly. “I’m not sure he realized he had one.”

Bobby sighed. “So he really doesn’t remember what happened?”

“He might not. He might remember some of it but not all of it. He might be afraid of repercussion should he identify exactly what happened.”

“I don’t think they should go with John again, but if there’s no proof he did anything…”

“There must be some reason he left them on your doorstep without so much as a word.”

“He didn’t even leave any of their belongings.”

I trotted out down the hallway where Dean had disappeared, and the human and the doctor followed not too far behind.

Out in the waiting area, Dean was sitting next to Sam, who had put the sticks back in the cardboard box.

“Everything’s okay?” Sam asked.

“Yep! Just a little bruised, but nothing that can’t heal itself,” Dean answered.

I stalked over towards Sam. Why was Dean lying? Broken bones was more than a little battered. Even Sam looked a little disbelieving and the fact that Dean  _ was  _ lying was pretty obvious.

Trickster had moved so he was sitting across from Sam and I could smell him on the white paper. But mostly good scents, so nothing bad had happened that I could tell. Good. If he’d hurt my boy, I would have eaten him.

“Hi, Bones,” Sam said. He reached down to pet me, so I licked his hand.

“Go on then,” Dean said, to Sam. “The Doc’s a cool guy.”

“Yeah?”

“Yep!”

“Okay.” Sam gathered his paper and his cardboard and headed to where Bobby and the doctor were waiting in the hallway. I followed.

Raphael took a good look at Sam, then led him down the hallway. “We’re going to do height and weight first, okay?”

Sam shrugged and the doctor led him over to a wall where a stick with numbers on it had been stuck onto the wall. He had Sam take his removable paws off and to stand against it. Then he had him stand on a box on the floor. “4 foot 8, and… 63 pounds.” He blinked at the box. “Right this way, please.”

Raphael led us back to the smaller room and Sam sat on the chair bed. My pup hunched in on himself, like he was trying to look smaller.

“Was there anything specific you wanted to talk about today?” the doctor asked.

Sam shrugged. He was rubbing at his wrist and I could smell a bit of discomfort though I wasn’t sure exactly what was bothering him. It didn’t smell the same as full pain though, for of an annoyance if anything. “The person sitting out in the waiting room said I should tell you about my wrist.”

What had Trickster and Sam talked about while I’d been in here with Dean? Had it been a good conversation? I thought I liked Trickster, so I hoped it had been a good conversation. Sam deserved that.

The doctor looked a little surprised, but he didn’t let it show on his face. I wondered if Sam could sense it, but I doubted it. I would just have to figure out how to teach them all these tricks.They were necessary for survival and I would facilitate that for them.  _ They would not die on me _ . “Oh? Why’s that?”

Sam shrugged again. “It hurts, sometimes more than other times. I think it’s just sprained.” He held it out towards the doctor.

Raphael stepped closer, glancing at the human paw. “May I?” Sam just moved his head in the up and down motion.  _ Human body language. _ Okay. The doctor moved the limb a little, getting a feel for it. “I think you might have fractured it once. Any idea what might have caused that?”

“Not really.” My pup chewed on his lip. “The people in the Roadhouse seemed to recognize the surname, Winchester. Do you know much about us?”

The doctor made a show of consideration, but I could tell he automatically recognized it. “John Winchester? Most everyone in the hunter and supernatural community would probably recognize it, he is notorious for hunting anything that isn’t human, regardless of whether or not the creature is living well with humanity.”

Sam sighed. “Yeah… that’s about right.” He glanced away, staring at the wall. “I think I injured it falling down.”

My pup didn’t smell like a lie, but it didn’t feel like the whole truth, either. He wasn’t a clutz, not prone to falling down all the time like a uncoordinated pup. So there was definitely more to the story than just falling over. Probably a lot more, if this John had anything to do with it. I had met him, and not liking him was definitely an understatement.

“Okay.” Raphael glanced down at me. “Would you tell me about the dog? He’s very interesting.”

“She,” Sam ground out. I could smell the sadness, but not overwhelming as it had been earlier. “Her name is Bones, and she’s  _ mine. _ ” Well, he wasn’t wrong about that. But I don’t think he realized that he actually belonged to me. He was mine. And it was going to take a lot more than an overgrown hunk of man to take him away from me.

“I wasn’t disputing that, I was just curious. Surely you know that animal spirits are uncommon.”

“She’s a ghost.” There was pain in his voice, and his scent, and I wanted to jump up and lick him but I wasn’t sure the doctor would have appreciated that. But if he was picking questions solely to pick at my boy, we were going to have a problem.  _ No one hurts my boy. No one. _

“Yes,” the doctor agreed. “And she’s bonded to you.”

Sam pulled his legs up so he could rest his feet up next to his body and wrap his arms around his knees.

“When did you meet Bones?”

“Two weeks ago,” Sam replied. “I ran away from the hotel Dad left me and Dean at and she found me.” My boy scratched at his injured wrist. “We were in Flagstaff.” He glanced at me. “The prettiest golden retriever, a little bit muddy, but otherwise healthy. Fourteen nice days of pizza."

The doctor tilted his head. “Was there any particular reason you ran away?”

Sam reached up, putting a finger in his mouth. He gnawed on the claw while staring at his feet. “A few months ago, Dean lost our food money while Dad was on a hunt and got arrested for stealing food. Dad… Dad let me spend the two months he was at a reform school thinking Dean died on a hunt. It was a terrible two months and… I thought I could escape.”

Raphael sighed. I could tell he was displeased, but perhaps less at Sam and more that this situation. “Sam, I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but can you tell me what happened yesterday?”

My pup whimpered. I knew it was important that he answer because festering wounds were always a bad thing, but I wished there was a different way to go about this. Some way to cause less pain.

“Sam?” Bobby prodded. “Nothing can hurt you here, but this is important.”

“Dad came back from the hunt and… he musta been so pissed at Dean for letting me run off. I… I don't know how he found me, but he did. Me n Bones.” He sniffled. “Dad shoved me towards the car, but I fell down. And my wrist hurt so much. Dad was shouting at me. I don't know what he was saying, just that he was shouting. He was about to touch me, pull me up off the ground but he was still screaming… and then Bones barked. She charged him and he just…” Sam was crying, messy sobs of snot and spit and tears.

The doctor walked towards the counter and pulled a box of soft paper out of the cabinet. Bobby walked towards Sam and hugged him.

It took a few minutes for Sam to calm, but he did eventually. He took one of the soft papers from Raphael and blew his nose and Bobby sat down again.

“Have you had trouble with your wrist before yesterday?” Raphael asked.

Sam shrugged. “Sometimes.”

He retrieved something else from the cabinet and took it to Sam. “Do you know what this is?”

“Is that a brace?”

“Yep! Since you reinjured your wrist yesterday, you should wear this overnight tonight and any time your wrist starts bothering you again.” He held it out toward Sam. “May I fit it for you?”

Sam held out his paw again, and the doctor fastened the weird plastic fur around his wrist. “I see you have some color pencils and paper and I’d like to make sure this is fitted correctly, would you draw something?”

Sam flipped the pad open and pulled out a dark colored stick and started drawing on it while the doctor took a step back and watched. After a few moments, the doctor moved away and started putting things into the the cabinets.  As Sam continued to draw, he relaxed his body more and more, eventually oblivious to what was going on in the room. But I kept watch for him, because if nothing else, my boy deserved some time to relax.

Eventually Raphael turned back around. “The brace looks to me like it fits, but is it comfortable? No chafing?”

My boy looked up. “No,” he said. “It feels fine.”

“Good, that’s good.” He glanced at Bobby, then back at Sam. “We’re almost done, but there’s one more thing we need to talk about. Some kids have a high metabolism and can eat and eat without gaining weight, and there’s no problem with that, just like there’s not a lot wrong with kids that have a hard time losing weight and gain it really easily. But there’s is a point where a low weight can problematic, especially if you’re not getting enough nutrients. Have you been getting enough to eat?”

Sam shrugged. “Dean has to eat too…. He might not think so, but I know better.”

The doctor sighed. “You both have to eat, that’s true. Does John not provide enough food for the both of you?”

My boy shrugged again. “He’s gone however long a hunt takes and sometimes that’s longer than he thinks and sometimes… sometimes we just don’t have any food for awhile.”

Raphael was standing in barely contained rage. He was seething.  _ I was seething _ . Leaving a pup without food was criminal!  _ I would hurt John, and it would take this time! _

The doctor looked at me and I realized I was growling. Not at him, of course, and I think he knew that, but at the idea of John Winchester hurting what belonged to me. It was unthinkable!

But instead of scolding me, he smiled. It wasn’t a big smile, and he was sad, too. “I think Bones is agreeing with the sentiment that this isn’t really acceptable behavior from a parent. Would you consent to a blood test? I want to make sure you don’t have any nutrient deficiencies. But! If you do, they should be easy enough to rectify with some supplements. Okay?”

Sam looked and smelled terrified, but he nodded. “Is it bad if I do have a deficiency?”

“In some cases it’s not a good thing, but it’s not always possible to tell just by looking at someone if they do, that’s why the test is necessary.”

“Okay,” Sam said.

Raphael got out the weird smelling equipment from a different cabinet and then took a single vial of blood from my boy. “Can you go get Dean and bring him back here? If he hasn’t been eating well either, he could also have some nutrient deficiencies.”

Sam shrugged and left the room, heading back to the waiting room. I watched while Raphael made proper adjustments to the equipment.

“Did you really need to draw blood?” Bobby asked. He didn’t sound annoyed, just curious.

“I could have identified any deficiencies without drawing blood, but if you’re looking to take custody of them from John, having some documentation on their health won’t hurt. And I’d like to satisfy my curiosity.”

“Are there any deficiencies?” Bobby raised an eyebrow.

Raphael swirled the vial. “Yeah…” Seething, he swirled it again, as though it would somehow change the results, but it just told him the same thing again, and again. The slight trace of sulfur was the most interesting thing, but none of the information he gained was anything but foreboding. “What has he been eating? Bread and water?”

Bobby raised an eyebrow. “Do you have any recommendations about what I should feed them?”

“I’ll send you home with some dietary supplements. After I check Dean. But there’s something else you need to know too.” Raphael sighed. “There’s a minute trace of sulfur in Sam’s blood, I can’t really guess as to why except if he somehow contracted demon blood,  _ years  _ ago. It hasn’t done anything negative to him that I can tell, but if he has any latent psychic abilities, it could cause them to manifest, which is the only reason I’m telling you.”

“Like visions?” Bobby asked.

“Could be,” Raphael agreed. “Could be telekinesis. Could be lots of things. I wouldn’t worry about it yet.”

Right after that, Sam and Dean came back into the room. I licked them both. They smelled…. Content. It was a good smell. I liked it.

Raphael used the equipment to take another vial of blood from Dean and he repeated the swirling motion. He smelled like wrath, but again, not aimed at my boys. “Dean… I need to know what you’ve been eating.”

The older pup blinked at the doctor from where he was sitting on the table chair. He shrugged. “Pasta. Rice and beans. Mac and cheese. There’s nothing wrong with that, right?” The pup smelled like misdirection, and anxious. He wasn’t outright lying, perhaps, but he wasn’t telling the entire truth.

“Pasta with some kind of sauce? Or just the pasta?”

Dean licked his lips. “Not sauce from a can, that’s too expensive, but I can make a good topping for the pasta.”

“What kind of topping?” Raphael asked.

“There’s always an excess of salt, gotta salt the windows and the doors. The garlic salt isn’t that much more, and it’s tasty. Some cheese and butter or vegetable oil. It fries nicely.”

“What about fruits and vegetables?” Raphael asked. “Any tomato sauce for the pasta?”

But I could tell that the doctor already knew the answer to the question. Even I knew the answer and I wasn’t entirely sure what fruits and vegetables were. It was no. Whatever it was that Raphael was worried about, my boys had not been eating enough of it.

“That shit’s expensive!” Dean scratched at his wrist and smelled strongly of discomfort.

“So you haven’t been eating your fruits and vegetables.” Raphael sighed. “Okay, dietary supplements it is.”

“Why?” Dean asked. “There’s nothing wrong with what we’ve been eating. We haven’t starved, isn’t that good enough?!”

“No Dean,” the doctor said sadly. “It’s not. Nutritional deficiencies can have long lasting side effects. Poor eyesight, brittle bones, you’d probably prefer it if you hair didn’t fall out.”

I barked once in agreement. My pups didn’t have enough fur as it was, they’d freeze to death if any more of it came out.

Raphael nodded. “See, even Bones agrees you should take your vitamins.”

“But they’re expensive!”

“Dean, Dean, it’s okay. I don’t charge my patients for the medicines I send them home with.” He turned around and pulled a big bottle out of a cabinet. “See? I’m just going to send this home with Singer and you’re going to take a tablespoon twice a day and Sam a teaspoon twice a day and when it’s all gone, you’ll both be good to go as long as you continue eating a balanced diet, okay? Fruits, vegetables, meat, beans, milk, and some grain, but not all grain, okay? And I have to ask that you limit your intake of sugary foods because your bodies need to recover and the easy sugar will confuse it.”

Sam opened his mouth, but Raphael continued, “Which is not to say that you can’t have sugar at all, because why would anyone tell a kid that isn’t misbehaving they can’t have a reasonable amount of dessert, you just can’t be replacing important nutrients with sugary confections.”

“What about smoothies?” Sam asked. “Are those allowed?”

“That’s up to Singer,” Raphael said. “Any more questions?” No one said anything. “Then I guess that’s everything. See you next week, unless anything changes.”

Bobby took the bottle from the doctor, thanked him for his time, and told the pups it was time to head back to his place. I followed. When we got outside, I saw that the sun was starting to to get lower in the sky. About time for the pups to go to bed, then. I liked that idea.

* * *

 

(Raphael first person pov)

I stared at the door long after it had shut in a futile attempt to clear my head. At some point after that failed, I started counting backwards from a hundred. In Enochian.  As my siblings could attest, there were few things capable of stirring me towards wrath, as I was the calmest of them, and the least likely to be stirred to righteous anger.

Harm to children by the people who were supposed to be protecting was one of them.

There was very little keeping me from smiting John Winchester right then. The fact that Gabriel was still sitting waiting area and would not only know, but hold it over my head  _ forever _ was about it. And the knowledge that it would be letting him off  _ too easily. _

I restarted my count. This time from a thousand. John Winchester deserved my anger, but it wasn’t going to help his children. Which meant what I really needed was to figure out how to help them, which started with getting them out of the “care” of John Winchester.

Paperwork. Humans liked their paper trails, and as much as it regularly got in the way of the hunters who were genuinely just trying to make the world a safer place, it was still the case that having a paper trail on their side to get out of John Winchester’s grasp would be a good idea. And Gabriel would get a kick out of making John Winchester’s life as difficult as possible, what with so much paperwork getting in his way.

Bobby Singer would take good care of the Winchester children, so John needed to stay alive long enough to actually sign the custody papers or they’d become wards of the state. Sam could not go into the care of just anyone, not with a ghost dog attached to his soul.

The door opened and I was drawn out of my thoughts by none other than my brother, who must have decided I had taken too long in emerging from the room. He had little patience though, son it was hardly a surprise.

“Let me guess,” Gabriel said. “Bad?”

I nodded. “They're battered and severely malnourished. Dean had a concussion and broken ribs, and Sam… he’s traumatised by what happened to Bones.”

Gabriel frowned then, crossing his arms as he walked closer to me. “Speaking of, what’s the story with that dog anyway? Animal spirits aren’t supposed to be able to bond with human souls, especially not as strongly as that one is with that kid.”

I groaned then, burying my face in my hands. “Sam ran away from their father after he was harmed, and managed to stay hidden for nearly two weeks. During that time, he came across a stray dog and took her in. They spent that time together, and grew close.”

There was silence from Gabriel for a moment, before he placed a hand on my shoulder. “What happened?”

I took a shaky breath, looking up at my brother as I fought against the overwhelming emotions.

“John Winchester, the boys’ father, he tried to take Sam back, and Bones acted in defence of her pup. And he slaughtered her in front of Sam.”

Gabriel stared at me in shock for a moment, before his face hardened, as he turned to walk towards the door. “Give me two weeks. The moment Singer is ready to make those boys his, I’ll make sure that he won’t fight.”

I stood quickly, sighing as I pulled my brother into a hug from behind. “Be careful Gabriel, we don’t know what he’s capable of, especially if he’s willing to go that far against his own child.”

Gabriel shifted, turning to return my embrace even as I wrapped my wings around us both. “Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself, and even if he traps the trickster, he’s got nothing against me! You just help make sure that those kids are safe and healthy, and I’ll take care of the rest.”

With a final sigh, I released my brother, watching him as he flew away in search of the monster that had done so much to ruin the lives of his own children.

I moved to sit back at my desk, fighting to remain calm, even as I feared for both my sibling, and the two children whose lives had so far been filled with pain and terror beyond anything they had needed to suffer up until this point.

* * *

 

(Third Person Bobby.)

After Bobby had driven them all back to his house, getting the boys into bed had been easy enough. After the events of the day, the two kids were too tired to do much else but lay down on the couch, leaning against each other and Bones, and fall asleep.

He had left them in the living room, as he had no other place where they could sleep for the moment, before retreating into the study. Close enough that he could keep an eye on them, yet far enough away that if either of the boys were to wake up, they wouldn’t feel as if he was watching them sleep.

Not that it stopped him from constantly looking in on them though, leaning over the desk to be able to watch them as they held each other close. He didn’t blame them for feeling the need to stay close to one another, especially with everything that it was implied that they had been through for so long.

From the clear abuse that they had suffered at the hands of their father should either of them be missing, to the worrying lack of food that they would have to survive on, there was little doubt in Bobby’s mind that they were certain that he might even try to hurt them, even though they might have known better.

But those thoughts were best saved for another day. He needed to make sure that they would be safe, and that there would be no way for them to ever return to John. Picking up a phone, he began to dial a rather familiar number as he walked up the stairs, planning to start setting up a room for the boys to share.

The phone rang for several moments, until it was finally answered. “Officer Jody Mills, how can I help you?”

Bobby rolled his eyes. “You know who it is Jody.”

There was silence for a moment, before there was a sigh. “Singer, you better not need me to cover your ass again, because I still owe at least three favors from last time.”

With a quiet laugh, Bobby shook his head. “No, nothing like what I needed last time. This one might need a few favors though, but I swear it’s for a good reason.”

“Spit it out then, my break is almost over.”

Not entirely sure where to begin, Bobby glanced back down the stairs, listening for any sign that either of the boys were waking. “What do you know of the Winchesters, specifically John Winchester?”

“Hang on for a minute,” Jody mumbled, before there was the sound of movement from one room to another, and the sound of a door closing. “All right, I’m somewhere a bit more quiet. And as for your question, the last I heard, John Winchester passed through town about seven or eight years ago, before leaving without a trace. Was a real shame, those kids were real cute.”

Grabbing a few sets of bedding, and taking them to the spare room the boys had used the last time they had stayed with him, Bobby carried on. “Better update that visitor’s list. John came back earlier today, dropping Sam and Dean on my doorstep. The kids had nothing more than the clothes on their backs, but I got them a few things from the store, and a few people dropped things off while we were out. But that’s not the worst of it.”

“Why do I get the feeling that I’m not going to like what you say next?”

“Because you’re not.” There was no reason to beat around the bush. “I took them to the Doc’s place to get them checked out. Dean had several broken ribs and a concussion, and Sam is far too small for his age. Both of them are malnourished, have multiple deficiencies, and are far too jumpy and skittish to be just as a result of the hunting lifestyle.”

There was a shaky breath from Jody then, and Bobby sat on one of the two beds in the room, needing a moment to cope with the reality of what he had finally gotten himself into. He had known that he would need to help the boys, and that it would take quite a while to help restore them to a more stable life, but he hadn’t expected anything near what he was now facing.

“Is-” Jody choked out, needing a moment to gather herself before continuing. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

There was only one thing that Bobby could think of. “I need a way to ensure that Sam and Dean will  _ never _ fall back into John’s hands again.”

“Meet me at the Roadhouse tomorrow. My treat. I want to meet the boys again, and let them know that we’re here to help.”

They talked for several more minutes, before they finally let the call end. Leaving the bedding on the beds, he decided to let the boys pick their own beds in the morning after they had woken up.

He quietly made his way back down the stairs, avoiding the squeaky step as best as he could. Taking a quick detour to the living room, he watched as the boys slept. Even in sleep, when most would be relaxed and calm, they were still tense, holding each other tightly as if terrified that someone would attempt to steal either one away from the other.

Bones was lying atop them both, whining softly as she nudged at either of the boys’ shoulders, as if trying to help them relax, but unable to do anything on her own.

With a sigh, Bobby grabbed a soft, well worn blanket from off of one of the chairs, using it to cover both of the boys. Patting Bones’s head, he smiled softly, before walking back to the study. He had a lot to do to prepare for the meeting with Jody in the morning.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a work of fiction and no medical advice should be taken from this work. Also, this is an inaccurate representation of the medical field and how anything health related works

The next day found my pups and the human called Bobby eating a hearty breakfast at the Roadhouse. I was lying with my head in Sam’s lap as he slipped me bits of his bacon under the table. I loved my boy. He was so thoughtful. There were about as many whispers as there had been the day before, but it didn’t seem to be bothering my boy so I wasn’t going to let it bother me. But if they came too close, I  _ would  _ bite them.

 

There had been mention of meeting someone else, someone new, but the older human hadn’t told my pups who, or when, no matter how much they asked. I wasn’t certain of what that could mean, but I suspected that there was a reason behind the deception. Either way, I wasn’t that concerned. The older human didn’t smell angry, or like he was going to try and harm my pups, but I was watching just in case.

 

“Good morning, Singer.”

 

I looked over to see who had spoken. The human, I was sure she was human, was standing in front of the table. I didn’t recognize her, but I liked how she smelled. She smelled calm, no anger, no fear. No unusual happiness, either. Just…. Calm.

 

“Morn’n, Jody. Would you care to join us for a bite of breakfast?”

 

“Don’t mind if I do, if that’s okay with your lot?”

 

I  _ really  _ liked her. There was no inflection in her voice that made it sound like she would have pressed if either of my boys had said no.

 

Sam shifted closer to Dean, who was next to the wall. I liked him because I wanted to provide him with comfort. I liked her, but I’d protect my boy if I was wrong. That was my job. To protect him.

 

“Sam, Dean, this is Jody Mills. She’s a friend.”

 

“Okay,” Sam whispered. One of his hands came to rest on my back, petting me, but mostly just holding on to me.

 

The woman, Jody, took that as her cue and sat down next to Bobby.

 

Dean stared at her, but didn’t say anything. There was a whiff of discomfort, but I wasn’t sure how to help. 

 

The rest of the eating of food was a tense affair. My boy picked at his food and answered questions with only a word or two, if he spoke at all.

 

"You know what? There's a park right across the street," Jody said after Sam had pushed his plate towards Dean. "Bobby, have you taken the kids there yet?"

 

There was a  _ park _ ? I wanted to take my pups to the park! I thumped my tail against my boy's leg in anticipation.

 

Despite himself, my boy gave a small smile. "Can we go to the park, Uncle Bobby?"

* * *

 

(Sam POV at the park)

At the suggestion of Bobby’s friend, they had all headed to the park after breakfast, the daughter of the Roadhouse’s owner in tow. She was talking quickly with both Bobby and Jody, and Sam found himself following slightly behind, holding Bones' fur tightly in one of his hands.

He knew it was silly, worrying that someone would try to steal his ghost dog, but he still couldn’t help but be worried, especially after what had happened to her not even a few days ago.

Soon enough, they reached the park, which was more of an open field with a fountain pavilion than anything with a playground, and Bobby was turning to look at Sam and Dean, causing Sam’s heart to speed up for a moment.

“Now, you kids go have fun as best as you can, play fetch, climb a tree, whatever you want. Just stay in sight, and let us know if anything happens to make you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, alright?” After both Sam and Dean nodded, Bobby continued, pointing towards the fountain. “Me an’ Jody are gonna be over by the fountain, so we’re not gonna be far.”

Bobby turned to walk towards the fountain, where Jody had already sat down, before pausing. “Oh, and be careful with those ribs, Dean.”

Sam watched as Bobby walked away, leaving him and Dean alone with the girl who had begged her way into coming with them. He didn’t have anything against her, but he’d wanted to be alone with Dean so they could try and figure out what was going on, not sit and have to keep an eye on someone else.

But even as he hoped that she would just wander off, she turned to face him, grinning widely. “I’m Jo, what’s your name?”

“Sam, and that’s my older brother, Dean.”

He didn’t know what she wanted, or if she was just playing nice so she could try and take Bones away from him later. Every kid liked dogs, so who’s to say that she didn’t want his, and that he would be forced to give Bones to her, because some adult thought she deserved her more?

“Cool! I always wanted a brother, but Mom said that I was gonna be the only kid she had, because one of me was more than enough for her. So I just have a lot of friends, but they’re all on vacation because school’s out, but they’ll be back soon when school starts again in a few weeks.”

Sam looked at her with confusion, before stepping closer to Dean. He wasn’t sure what the girl was going on about, and it didn’t  _ sound _ like she wanted to take Dean, but he couldn’t be too careful. As easily as it would’ve been if they’d practiced it, Dean reached out and tucked him under his arm, and Sam shifted to be able to hold onto the shirt that Dean had borrowed from Bobby, as well as making sure that he had a good grip on Bones still. He didn’t want to risk losing either of them, especially since he’d just got them both back.

The girl looked at them for a moment, before shrugging and running off towards a group of other kids nearby, who were kicking around a soccer ball.

Even though the girl was leaving them alone, Sam still clung to Dean, shaking softly. He’d been so worried for so long, and wasn’t going to risk losing his brother again. Bones was whining softly, but she just pressed further into his leg, so he wasn’t holding her too tight.

A moment passed in silence between them, before Dean squeezed his shoulder, causing Sam to look up at him. “Hey, why don’t you show me what you taught Bones? I mean, what good’s a dog that can’t fetch?”

With a small, involuntary chuckle, Sam carefully moved to scratch behind Bones’s ear, causing her to look up at him, tongue lolled out in pure joy. “How about it girl, you wanna show him what you can do?”

Bones barked once, before running off towards a nearby tree. “Hey, are you doing ok?” Dean asked after a moment, and Sam found himself shrugging without much care.

“I guess,” he whispered, watching as Bones darted between trees, as if searching for something. “Jo seems kinda nice, and so does Bobby.”

He could feel Dean snort slightly, before sighing as he pulled Sam’s head into his chest. “You’d say that, wouldn’t you. Man, the first time we came to stay with Bobby, you bit his finger so hard he was bleeding for a solid five minutes.”

Sam blinked softly, a small frown forming as his eyes darted towards where Bobby was sitting. “I don’t remember that.”

“No one would expect you to. You were maybe four, and this stranger you’d never met before just picked you up from behind.” Dean gestured broadly, miming picking up a kid with his free hand. “You took two seconds to realize what was happening, and the chompers came out. Dad was so mad, but Bobby just kept laughing, saying that even if you got in trouble, we at least knew that you wouldn’t be taken, because you’d just bite your way out of it.”

Bones chose that moment to appear again, a ratty old tennis ball clamped between her teeth. She nudged against Sam’s knee, letting out a muffled bark before dropping the ball at his feet.

Sam shrugged, slowly pulling away from Dean as he bent down to pick up the ball. He took a few steps to the side, so he would have room to move freely. “Alright girl, go fetch!”

He threw the ball as far as he could, watching as Bones took off after the ball. A smile was starting to form on his face, as the memories of his two weeks with Bones came back to him. All the hours of playing with the dog that had claimed him, just as much as he had claimed her, the happy days of safety and peace, and the quiet nights spent petting her as he fell asleep.

He wanted to share those memories with Dean, to let his brother know why he had spent so long away, why he loved Bones so much, and everything that had made those two weeks better than anything else he could remember.

He was so focused on those thoughts and memories, that he completely missed the only warning that could be given for what happened next.

Something slammed into the small of his back, forcing him to his knees. He tried to cough, to gasp at the pain, to do  _ anything _ , but he couldn’t. He couldn’t breathe.

He could distantly hear Dean shouting, someone asking if he was ok, someone running off, but none of that was important, because  _ he couldn’t breathe. _

Someone was patting his back, right where whatever it was had hit him, and the pain finally allowed him to pull in a strangled breath, groaning in pain as he fought to keep breathing.

“Sam, are you ok?” Bobby was asking, and he tried to answer, but doubled over coughing uncontrollably instead.

“The kids hit him! Bobby, do something!”

He could hear Dean, and tried to reach out to him, but couldn’t find the strength to do anything but cough, and attempt to keep breathing.

“Alright, this has gone on enough. The clinic isn’t far, let’s get him over there, and make sure he isn’t hurt bad.”

Arms were around him then, pushing and pulling until he was being lifted, carried towards the car they had all rode over in.

* * *

 

(3rd person Raphael POV)

  
  


Something had happened, and recently. Raphael could feel it. There was a group headed towards his clinic, and there was little doubt in his mind as to who it was.

One of the Winchester children had somehow been injured, and it was bad enough to need his attention. His exam rooms had already been prepared, as there were always injuries or illnesses that would need his attention, but he had no idea of what could be waiting for him.

It could be something simple, such as a twisted ankle or bumped head, or it could be something as dangerous as an injury given by an attacker. The uncertainty was stressful, and he took a deep breath before reaching out for his brother, calling him back from wherever he had run off to.

“Gabriel, brother, I know that you are on a hunt, but something has happened, and I fear that I may need your assistance soon.”

There was no answer from Gabriel, and Raphael wished that he had time to go to his brother and explain, but the door to his clinic was opening, and there was no time to delay. A child needed him, and he would never allow one to wait while he was available.

“Raphael! We need you!”

“Bring him back to room three, and get him settled. Dean, can you explain to me what happened?” He kept his voice low, hoping to not startle the teen, even as he pulled him off to the side, away from where Bobby was taking Sam. The teen was clearly shaken, horrified by whatever had happened to cause Sam’s current state of being.

“We,” Dean tried to start, running a hand through his hair as he attempted to explain. “We were at the park by the Roadhouse, and he was gonna show me how he taught Bones to play fetch, when-”

Raph watched as Dean struggled to stay calm, even as they could both hear Sam’s increasingly harsh coughs from the exam room. “What happened, Dean?”

“There were these other kids, they were playing some game, and the ball went flying, and it, it hit him. On his back.”

Raphael nodded softly, trying to keep from showing his concern. He needed to keep calm, if only for the sake of the children, so they wouldn’t panic. “Alright. I’m going to go take care of Sam, and make sure that the ball didn’t cause any damage, and make sure that there will be no complications because of the coughing. You can either come in with us, or go out and sit in the waiting area. It’s your choice, and none of us will judge you for it, if you need some time to calm down.”

Dean took several shaky breaths, before slowly walking towards the waiting room, Bones hesitantly following behind him.

Raphael watched as the teen walked away, before turning to walk into the room where Bobby and Sam were waiting.

His heart broke at the sight of Sam, who was still coughing uncontrollably, even as the boy looked towards him, reaching out for comfort. Never one to deny comfort to anyone who so desperately needed it, he stepped closer to the boy, carefully pulling him into a hug. With a gentle touch, he slowly expanded his Grace, attempting to find the source of Sam’s coughing.

There was a bruise forming where the ball had struck Sam’s back, though no further damage to the spine or ribs. So why was Sam still struggling to breathe, when he should have regained the ability to do so by now? He directed his Grace to help ease the pain of the bruise, and set it to heal, before turning to face Bobby.

“How long ago did the injury occur?”

“About ten minutes ago.”

They shared a look, both knowing that there was something greater happening to Sam. With a steadying breath, he turned back to Sam, who was now leaning against him, running a hand through the boy's hair in what he hoped would be a soothing motion. "Alright Sam, how are you feeling? Any pain from the impact still?"

"No, but I, it feels like, I can't breathe," Sam gasped out, between forceful and pained sounding coughs.

Raphael nodded, shifting to place the hand not in Sam's hair upon the boy's shoulder, trying to find the source of the irritation that kept him coughing. "Well that's not pleasant. I don't want to give you anything to suppress the cough, in case there's anything blocking your airways, but I also won't be able to properly see what's happening, because the coughing will obstruct my view." He pulled away slowly, kneeling to be at eye level with Sam. "I know it's going to be difficult, but I need you to try and hold back the coughs for as long as you can, so I can get a full, clear picture of what's going on. Can you do that for me?"

Sam, for all the pain and fear that was plaguing him, nodded bravely, even as another cough forced through him. Raphael smiled sadly, quietly thanking a Deity that no longer listened for the endless resilience of children, before moving his hand from Sam's shoulder to his chest, just above his heart.

"Whenever you're ready, Sam."

The instant that Sam forced himself to stop coughing, Raphael sent his Grace to fully fill the boy's ailing lungs, to see and understand what was happening, and try to ease it.

There was a tightness, pressure, and constriction of the airways. It was easy enough for one of them to cause the coughing that had plagued Sam, but all of them together was more than enough for a diagnosis. Just in time too, as Sam's cough returned, worse than ever before, forcing Raphael's Grace out from the lungs, even as it caused other reactions within the boy.

He felt as the boy began to sob uncontrollably, even as he banished the mess from his clothing, pulling the distraught child close. "There's no need for tears, little one. You are far from the first person to make a mess of my outfit, and I have no doubt that you will not be the last." He soothed, waving a hand to summon the equipment that he would need.

He waited a minute, until Sam seemed to be calming, before he pulled away, just enough to hold the small machine between himself and Sam. "Now, this is called a nebulizer. What it does, is take a medication that I pour into the chamber here, and cause it to turn into vapor that you breathe in. It'll help to open your airways, but it will cause some slight coughing. If you feel as if you need to be sick, simply pull the mask off, and do what you need to. Otherwise, just sit, breathe, and relax." At Sam's hesitant nod, Raphael gently lifted the mask to fit over the boys nose and mouth, adjusting it until it fit snugly. "Do you have any questions?"

When Sam shook his head, Raphael nodded, before moving to turn on the machine. "Now, it's a little loud, but not so you can't hear another speak over it." With the warning in place, and Sam's nod, he flipped the switch.

Despite the warning, Sam startled at the sudden noise of the generator within the machine, before calming somewhat when he realized where it was coming from.

"The treatment takes almost twenty minutes to complete, so you just sit here for a moment, while I discuss with Bobby what happened, and let Dean know you're alright. Will you be alright for the moment, or do you want me to get Dean, bring him here, and discuss everything at once?"

Sam looked conflicted, before speaking. "Can you get," he was cut off by another cough, this one not anywhere near as harsh as the ones that had preceded it. "Get Dean."

Raphael nodded, squeezing Sam's knee gently. "I'll be back in just a moment."

With a nod towards Bobby, Raphael stood up, slowly leaving the room, closing the door softly behind him. He stood outside the door for a minute, trying to collect his thoughts before going to discuss things with Dean.

If his initial diagnosis was correct, then it would change the lives of the Winchester brothers in several different ways, but it would be easy enough for them to adapt. They were already neat, which would reduce potential triggers from dust buildup. And treatment was easy enough, with several medications designed specifically to keep it in check.

But he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else he was missing.

* * *

 

(Bones’ POV)

One minute I was playing fetch with my pup, and the next it felt like the world was ending. As he doubled over, my pup’s breathing was so much more ragged than my other pup’s had been and it was so much like the bad raspy breathing illness and I didn’t know what to do.

Between one moment and the next we were back in the thundering vehicle. I was sure that Bobby knew what he was doing, but I was worried about my pup because he still wasn’t breathing well.

The other pup was scared too, they all were.  _ I was scared. _

And then we were back at the very clean place. I could smell that Trickster had been there recently, but no longer, and I could hear Raphael in the back.

I knew that the doctor could help my boy and that my other pup needed me more, as he slunk sadly in the direction of the sitting area all by himself.

He wasn't breathing raspily, but he was close to hyperventilating.

I jumped in his lap when he sat down.

"Hey, Bones," he said, petting me. "Why didn't you go with Sam? I would have been okay out here." His breath hitched but he didn't need to include the word alone for me to know that his thoughts had turned there.

_ "Silly pup."  _ I licked his wrist, then his face. Sam was my pup, but he had everyone else keeping him safe and this one shouldn't be alone when he was sad and scared.

I licked him gently until Raphael came back out.

"Dean?" the doctor asked quietly. "Sam would like you to come back with him. Are you ready to join us?" Dean didn't answer, just looked indecisive. "You can stay here if you're not ready, it's okay."

"I'm scared," Dean whispered. "He's my baby brother and it's  _ my  _ responsibility to look after him, and I couldn't even keep him safe at the  _ park _ ." 

"As an older brother myself, can I tell you the hardest thing I ever had to learn?" Rapael asked, continuing at Dean's nod. "We can't protect our younger siblings from everything, no matter how hard we try. Sometimes they get hurt, and there's nothing we can do about it. And sometimes there's things they have to discover for themselves even when we'd like nothing more than to keep them in bubble wrap and hide them from the world."

Dean swallowed. "I tried that, once. Dad was absolutely livid."

"It's not very safe. Too easy to cause dehydration."

"That's not why he was mad, but I don't want to talk about it. I do want to rejoin Sam in the back."

Down the hall, the door slammed open. “Raphael!” Bobby shouted.

From where I was sitting on Dean’s lapn to stare at the doctor. I hadn’t really identified human expressions yet, but it was easy to know that this was terror, because Dean’s fear scent overwhelmed my nose. I couldn’t even smell Raphael and he was  _ right there _ .

There should never have been any reason for any of my pups to smell like that. But more worrying, if any scent such as this could block all other scents, how was I going to protect them from something I couldn’t see?  _ Anyone  _ could walk in right now.

Raphael turned and hurried towards the room Bobby and Sam were in. I jumped down from Dean’s lap and we both ran after him.

The sight we found in the examination room was concerning.  _ I could still only smell Dean, _ but even with my most important sense decommissioned, the painted picture was  _ bad _ .

Sam’s wheezed breathes were worse than any stories I had heard of the raspy breathing sickness combined. He was coughing and gasping for every breath and I could see the blue tint to his lips, and his skin was pale and glistening.

I wasn’t close enough to tell, but I was sure that Sam’s temperature was far higher than it ought to have been.

Dean walked over and stood next to my pup. “It’ll be okay,” he said quietly. “You’ll get through this, just like before.”

Raphael did something to the thing making a loud noise and it rattled to a stop. “Alright, that clearly wasn’t working. I’m going to change the machine to give you oxygen, then we’ll reassess what’s happening here. Just stay calm a moment.” 

My pup whimpered quietly from the back of his throat. I still couldn’t smell anything, but I didn’t need it to know that he would also be surrounded by fear stench. He was sick, and scared, and I had to do  _ something. Anything. _

I stepped forward and put my front paws up onto the surface my pup was sitting. Maybe I couldn’t do anything for his physical health, but I could be there for him.

“Careful, Bones,” Raphael whispered. I wouldn’t have known he wasn’t talking to himself if he hadn’t spoken my name.

What did he take me for? A pup? I knew  _ all  _ there was to know about the raspy breathing sickness. The last thing Sam needed was more pressure to his already constricted lungs. But there was nothing wrong with his legs.

So I did what all good dogs do. I climbed onto his lap and laid still. I wasn’t going anywhere. My pup needed me.

Raphael had switched on the loud thing and once it was on, it made much less noise than the first one. “I’m going to print a radiograph, an x-ray, of your chest, okay? You won’t feel a thing.”

Sam coughed harshly and made no attempt to say whether or not he was okay with it.

The doctor tapped Sam’s shoulder twice and then there was a beep from one of the objects on the counter at the edge of the room.

Raphael investigated the counter until he was holding a piece of paper up in both hands. “Let’s just-” He froze. “Sam, you’re eleven, right?”

My boy moved his head up and down.

“You have pneumonia. And this x-ray suggests you’ve had it before. Sam, did you know you’ve cracked every rib in your body?”

I wanted to know how my pup was going to take that revelation, though I wasn’t clear on what a  _ rib  _ was, but Dean’s came first, and was the more obvious reaction.

Dean keened. It was a wretched sound, pained and scared and  _ hurt _ .

The door opened. “Hey, Raph-” Trickster cut off as he got a good look at the room. “What happened?”

“Sam has pneumonia, and I think it was affected by lung constriction from  _ all  _ these very old rib fractures. Come look at this x-ray.”

“I thought Dean was the one with the broken ribs. Shouldn’t pneumonia have shown up in the tests yesterday?” Trickster crossed the room so that he was standing next to Raphael and looking at the same piece of paper the other was holding up.

“I don’t know why it didn’t, that is highly unusual.”

Dean keened again, and this time started shaking.

I whined. He was panicking, and I didn't know how to help him. But maybe Trickster could?

I looked directly at Trickster and whined again. My pup needed me, but the other pup needed someone too. And, I couldn't have him upsetting my pup. Not if he had the raspy breathing sickness. He needed his rest.

"Dean? Why don't we go out in the hallway," Trickster said. "I have some breathing exercises I would like you to try."

Trickster and Dean slipped out of the room. With the other pup out of the room, I was able to get a better read on the scents of the room.

Raphael was angry, but not at my pup. It was probably related to the paper he was holding and how my boy had come to have broken all of his ribs.

My pup was scared and sick. I had guessed that already.

And Bobby was also slightly angry. But mostly he was sad.

"Sam," Raphael said finally. "You have pneumonia. So I'm going to give you an antibiotic to take for a week and you should be feeling better in no time, but I want you to take it easy, okay? You'll want to incorporate more yogurt into your diet this week too, antibiotics can be really hard on a person's stomach so yogurt is a good source of probiotics. Since the oxygen seems to be helping, I'm thinking you should take a nap in the spare bedroom and I'll take it off when you wake up. Does that sound good?"

My pup did the raising and lowering of his head, then yawned.

"Singer, do you have any questions?" Bobby's head went side to side and Raphael continued, "Why don't I get Sam settled in the guest bedroom and then we could talk about some of the specifics of Sam's pneumonia?"

The head moved up and down and  _ finally  _ the human body language  _ clicked _ . The up and down motion was a yes and the sideways head shaking was no.

Could I use it? Dogs didn't have body language like that, so would it really come across to them as me communicating? And did I really have a use for yes and no?

The doctor tapped me. He must have walked over while I was musing. "Bones, we're going to walk over to the spare bedroom so Sam can sleep."

Good! My pup needed to sleep more.

I jumped down so I wasn't interfering with Sam getting up.

Sam stood, and I yipped because something was not right. He stopped shivering and then his face lost the rest of what little color it still had.

And then he went down.

I immediately shifted, trying to catch him. He wasn't capable of crushing me anymore and even if he was, I would have done it anyway.

Raphael intervened, grabbing my pup before he could land on me. "Sam?!"


End file.
